Protraph Lack of good storyline.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

rodrig58 It would seem that all humanity is built on a solid foundation of hate and not love, I wonder how we got here and, especially, how are we still here? This is what is about this film, which brings some big names in the cast: Burt Lancaster, Telly Savalas, Shelley Winters. Plus one of my favorite directors, one of the best, John Frankenheimer. Those who have seen his movies, they know that the master has to his credit some of the best action movies ever made. Do not be fooled by the title, this is not an action movie. Except for the first 2 minutes, when is stabbed and killed a young Puerto Rican, plus 2 other scenes, the rest is just dialogue. But dialogue of the highest quality, no time for boredom. All the other actors are very good. Burt Lancaster made with Frankenheimer other 4 films, "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962), "Seven Days in May" (1964), "The Train" (1964), "The Gypsy Moths" (1969), all great movies. Telly Savalas made only another one, "Birdman of Alcatraz"(1962). Last but not least, I must warn you: the film starts and ends with the ferocious lion in that MGM logo, roaring. Do not be afraid, Batman will save you. I mean the one nicknamed Batman, the character Anthony 'Batman' Aposto in this film.

st-shot The first of the five collaborations featuring the energetic acting and directing styles of Burt Lancaster and John Frankenheimer The Young Savages is a sincere if not altogether successful look at juvenile gangs and assimilation in the era of West Side Story. It doesn't reach the dizzying heights of the musical but it does effectively convey the plight of growing up in the inner cities and the pressures facing them.Three of The Horsemen in mid day brazenly walk onto Thunderbird turf and stab a blind boy. Immediately powers that be attempt to exploit the moment for political gain while the city braces for a gang war of retribution between rivals. Hank Bell (Lancaster) is assigned the case by his boss who very much wants to be the next governor. With calls for law and order they push for the death penalty but Bell who grew up in the neighborhood refuses to broad brush the trio and investigates further and what looked clear cut becomes murkier with each new discovery.The opening of Savages is a powerful montage of tension building as Frankenheimer's assassins move in on their intended target. In the aftermath the cold cynicism of the likes of Telly Savalas' homicide detective and Edward Andrews office seeking DA keeps things gritty and grounded in reality while Frankenheimer and cinematographer Lionel Lindon create some strong expressionistic canvases to illustrate the grinding poverty and despair of the slum. Things become unglued however in the court room scenes as Bell dealing with some identity guilt himself ( his real name is Bellini ) goes from prosecutor to defense lawyer for his ex- girlfriend's kid in one cross examination and it turns Savages into soap opera.Lancaster delivers his usual energized performance as a man conflicted by his past and present in his pursuit of the American Dream. Andrews and Savalas nail their roles but Dina Merrill and Shelly Winters as paramour metaphors come across remote and bland.The Young Savages is commendable for its calling to attention the bitter friction of inner city living, poverty, violence and bias giving ample time for the denizens of these the slums to voice their story. The courtroom scenes however do not do it justice and Savages ultimately executes itself.

CitizenCaine During this period, many juvenile delinquent films were released following the Hollywood success of The Blackboard Jungle with Glenn Ford in 1955. The cycle continued into the sixties when the juvenile films often turned soft or zany, such as the beach films. The delinquency films returned to a more hardcore approach with the advent of the motorcycle films from the mid sixties to the early seventies. John Frankenheimer was a director to be reckoned with from the fifties through the mid sixties. In The Young Savages, his second feature film, Frankenheimer directs Burt Lancaster as a crusading assistant district attorney who later finds himself second-guessing himself when prosecuting three Italian gang members for stabbing a blind Puerto Rican boy to death. The role is beneath Lancaster, and it becomes one of his standard portrayals of an intense character in growing conflict with himself over ethical issues. His performance is good, but toward the end of the film in the courtroom scene, Lancaster's character seems to take an about face in relation to his position as a prosecutor and from his earlier get tough approach; as a result, his concluding courtroom speech rings hollow and makes him sound like a political mouthpiece for the screenwriter. The film also glosses over the ethical dilemma of Lancaster prosecuting the son of a former girlfriend.The icy Dina Merrill represents the book-learned liberal faction of society insulated from facing the social problems the establishment attempts to come down on. Shelley Winters is always good, this time as an Italian mother with a son she's disconnected from. Edward Andrews is good as Lancaster's amoral, political boss. Telly Savalas appears in only his second feature film as a rough and tumble police lieutenant, a precursor to his Kojack persona. Luis Arroyo, the one time pitcher from the Yankees at the time, is Zorro (the Puerto Rican gang leader). The Young Savages attempts to do too much in one film, depicting juvenile delinquency as a social problem with varied causes seemingly to be studied and understood. Also the four main characters of Lancaster, Merrill, Winters, and Andrews appear to symbolize the various factions of society with a vested interest in delinquency as an issue; of course a couple are misguided. Neither gang is depicted as all good or all bad. The gang members appear to be acting a bit exaggerated in the film, which may have seemed necessary for the film to make its point, but today the performances simultaneously seem dated, tame, and, in the case of John Davis Chandler, over-the-top. Frankenheimer's early films, as did his early television work, move quickly with tense, emotionally packed scenes. He was also innovative with camera angles and stop action close-ups. The Young Savages benefits immensely from on location shooting in East Harlem neighborhoods where Lancaster grew up himself. The screenplay is based on Evan Hunter's novel: A Matter Of Conviction, the title deliberately ambiguous perhaps. This is probably Frankenheimer's weakest film from his first decade of directing. *** of 4 stars.

gary olszewski The film is so memorable, not for especially great acting or storyline, but the fact that a friend & myself, dabbled in amateur film-making in the 60's, did our own version of this film, scene-for-scene, line-by-line, thanks to a small, battery-operated tape recorder, and a 16mm copy from the theater screen! We got all our friends to play the characters, even got my buddy's mother to play Dina Merrill! Couldn't find anyone to portray Shelley Winters, so we got a fat girl from our school to do her part! My filmmaker buddy liked Frankenheimer's films, not only for the stories, but with no money, B&W film was all he could afford!I, in fact, HAD SEVERAL roles, some even in the same scene, depending which direction the camera was pointed: In the courtroom, I was both the judge AND the bailiff, in the same scene!The scene of Lancaster getting beat up on the train, caused some problems, though: We did the scene, too realistic, in fact, on A Chicago subway train, we forgot to inform the train crew what we were doing, the conductor stopped the train, called the transit police, and we were hauled off to the Polk Street lockup for the night, for causing a public disturbance! Our case was dismissed the next morning,"Hanging Judge" Saul Epton laughed at our zaniness, and wished us good luck!Actress Jody Fair became our "screen sweetheart" for several years, in fact, in the late 1980s, I interviewed her by telephone, about her career, and printed the article in some long-forgotten fanzine!All in all I don't think this film was one of Frankenheimer's best efforts, nor that of Lancaster, Merrill, and Winters. A rather amateurish job (Frankenheimer, as well as our own!) but cool enough to watch, typical of the "gang" flicks of the late 50s and early 60s!